Is it a clever marketing ploy? Of course it is! The fans will eat it up with a spoon and it will give ESPN something to talk about for months. It will be right around X-mas time where you will start seeing "King James" Heat Jerseys strolling around the mall with their mouths open dropping over $100 in the Lidz store.

The NBA has seemed to long abandoned the storied tradition of their logos and team history, they've done hispanic versions of jerseys and the Cleveland Cavaliers have had 4 variant jerseys in one year. I can understand the marketing appeal but at what point does your team lose its identity?

When you change your team's logo, color scheme, and even alter the name it dilutes the brand, the identity, and integrity of the team. Could you imagine if the Steelers changed their logo or colors? Or if they took the Hypocycloids and replaced them with Steely McBeam? There would be fires and murder.

The NHL has been good about maintaining the integrity of their team's image. Yes, they have done Winter Classic sweaters and soon to have Stadium Series logos but they (so far) have been retrospective homages to the team's history and not some cheap gumball machine tactic that cheapens the tradition of the franchise.

Doing it right for almost 100 years.

Personally, I respect the NHL for it's players being "team first" personalities. Even the marquee players Crosby, Toews, and Ovechkin are mostly humble down-to-earth people you can relate to and respect. It is also the same reason the NHL will always remain a niche sport. They don't have those larger than life personalities that feed into the new TMZ-type hybrid of sports reporting that is slowly turning sports media into a sideshow.

Maybe I'm making too much of a fuss about something that's supposed to be fun for the fans but I see it as so much more. I think of it as another step towards athletes only using sports as a medium for their clothing companies, colognes, shoes, and parts on reality shows.

I watch sports to escape from all those things and sadly they are bleeding together into a very Wal-Mart-esque shade of boring.